Celebrating people who bring the Internet to life

Blog Posts for 2014

Eric Huizer, of the Internet Hall of Fame Class of 2014, points out that fighting cybercrime is a difficult task. Of course we want an open Internet, he says, but the multinational nature of cybercrime inevitably involves politics and a nuanced approach.

Internet Hall of Famer Ben Segal says that the real threats to the Internet are the social ones. The “rich and powerful,” he says, should not be allowed to control the Internet; instead, he hopes the “democratic spirit of the Internet” will be maintained.

Inaugural Internet Hall of Famer Vint Cerf testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation – testimony that may well have set the bar for all future efforts to explain the importance of basic research.

In his Senate testimony, while insisting that basic research must be adequately funded by the government, Mr. Cerf was careful to note that “basic and applied research go hand-in-hand, informing and stimulating each other in a never-ending Yin and Yang of partnership.” He stressed that applied research projects take a long time to mature, and he used the Internet as Exhibit A, detailing how its development over the years has progressedthanks to major investments from government. He added that “Consistent and increasing support for basic and applied research … has been the source of most major advances in science and technology in the past 70 years.”

African women face the same challenges confronting women everywhere: cultural attitudes that men can do “tech stuff” better, that motherhood distracts them from focusing on their work, that they are somehow not suited for careers in technology, math, science or engineering. Dorcas Muthoni has proved those attitudes wrong, and in doing so has proved an inspiration to girls and women across the continent and beyond.

Muthoni, the founder of AfChix, an African-based organization designed to encourage girls and young women in Africa to take up careers in tech, says simply, “I like to help people to reach their full potential.” AfChix activities include organizing annual Computing Career Conferences to demystify computing.

“A big challenge is the lack of information many high-school girls and college women have,” she says. “They need to know that computer science requires you to be on top of things every minute, because it’s constantly changing. You have to keep up. Still, with the right skills and information, you can go anywhere. I try to tell them, ‘You can do it,’ and show them how.”

Muthoni, who became a mother for the first time earlier this year, is the perfect role model for AfChix conference attendees. In high school, she wanted to be an architect, but when...